Symbolic Representation in Young Children With Down Syndrome

This study has been completed.

Sponsor:

University of Sao Paulo

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT00668980

First Posted: April 29, 2008

Last Update Posted: January 14, 2010

The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government.
Read our disclaimer for details.

The aim of this study is to characterize the process of constitution of symbolic representation in infants with Down syndrome, as well as to investigate the relationship between gestures and the emergence of oral language. The investigators hypothesis is that children with Down syndrome could present difficulties during the constitution of symbolic representation that may be related to later deficits on expressive language, generally observed in these children.

According to the Genetic Epistemology, language development is directly related to cognitive construction. Such relationship is clearly observed after the constitution of representation that allows one individual to express his or her thinking through language.

Eligibility

Information from the National Library of Medicine

Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.

Ages Eligible for Study:

Child, Adult, Senior

Sexes Eligible for Study:

All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Sampling Method:

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Study Group - children with Down syndrome that attend speech-language therapy at the Speech Language Pathology Laboratory in Syndromes and Sensorimotor Deficits of the School of Medicine of the University of São Paulo or from the Association of Parents and Friends of Exceptional children of São José dos Campos.

Control Group

- typically developing children followed up in the Pediatrics Ambulatory of the University's Hospital and/or being assisted in the University' Hospital Nursery School.

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria for Study Group:

genetic diagnosis of Down Syndrome

be at the 4th stage of sensorimotor period at the initial assessment

good health conditions

good results on audiologic evaluation

pediatric and ear, nose and throat periodic check ups.

Inclusion Criteria for Control Group:

good health conditions

be at the 4th stage of sensorimotor period at the initial assessment

pediatric and ear, nose and throat periodic check ups.

Exclusion Criteria for all groups:

submission to long term hospitalizations due to heart diseases and major respiratory airway infections, that may interfere in the child's global development

presence of visual or auditory important deficits

historic of prematurely and/or low birth weight

Contacts and Locations

Information from the National Library of Medicine

To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.

Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00668980

Locations

Brazil

APAE Sao José dos Campos

Sao Jose Dos Campos, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 12233-400

University Hospital

Sao Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, 05360-160

University of Sao Paulo - School of Medicine - Department of Physiotherapy, Communication Sciences and Disorders, Occupational Therapy